Chapter 38. Hint of Sunlight
Watching the cannon's muzzle gradually move toward her, Akasha's panic grew. She scrambled to escape but Charles didn't give her the opportunity to.
As he raised his left hand, the tentacle ring was instantly triggered and an invisible tentacle coiled itself around the pig-nosed bat. Although the bat managed to get out of the tentacle's grip in less than a second, it was less than a second too late.
Boom!
In a blink of an eye, half of the monstrous bat's body exploded into a splattering mist of blood and entrails that rained down on the Narwhale. Disbelief was written on the bat's grotesque face.
As Charles was freefalling toward the waters below, a sudden flash of white light blinded him. Instinctively, he reached out and closed his fingers around the light source. It was the mirror that had fallen from the giant bat.
With a splash, the icy water embraced Charles. When he emerged onto the water surface, he witnessed the other half-human, half-bat monster fleeing toward the port. Clearly, he had no intention of avenging its fallen comrade.
"Coward! I dare you to not run!" Charles taunted while peddling in the waters.
The death of the duchess seemed to have intimidated the vampires. No bat came into their vicinity even until Dark Crystal Island had reduced to nothing but a speck on the horizon.
Drenched, Charles lay sprawled on the deck. He was extremely exhausted. Though the Clown Masked allowed him to unlock the maximum potential of a human's body, it couldn't negate the exhaustion that accompanied the power. Now, he didn't feel like even lifting a finger.
Having escaped from doom, the crew members erupted into cheers and hoisted him into the air.
The next day, Charles woke up. Half-rejuvenated, he ignored the painful protest of his muscles as he dragged himself to the deck.
Upon arriving at the deck, Charles saw his First Mate, Bandages, the sole sailor repairing the boat. He let out a sigh. Their casualties had been significant for this journey. During their encounter with the giant butterfly, they had lost two sailors and the Third Engineer. At Dark Crystal Island, another two sailors and the assistant cook had become vampire food.
Also, the new and pristine Narwhale was now scarred and battered. Their latest mission of exploring a new maritime area could thus be considered a disastrous failure.
Charles' only gain had only been a relic in the form of a mirror and a blind vampire.
Taking out the round mirror, Charles gazed at his own reflection within it, but realized that the mirror was so hazy that he could hardly see himself. A sudden thought emerged in Charles' head and he headed toward the crew's quarters. If there were anyone who might know the use of this relic, it would be the only native of Dark Crystal Island on the ship.
The moment Charles entered the crew's quarters, he was hit by the coppery smell of blood. The blind vampire, Audric, was feeding on a blood-soaked bandage. Meanwhile the owner of the bandage, James, was sleeping on the hammock beside and snoring loudly.
The neck of the blind painter squirmed ceaselessly as fresh buds of flesh interweaved unceasingly. It looked like it wouldn't be long before his neck healed completely.
Hearing the familiar footsteps, Audric stood hastily and called out, "Captain Charles, you're here."
Charles took out the Black Knife and placed it in James' hand. He had suffered severe wounds from having to use his physical body to fight head-on with the bat beast. Fortunately, when his physical size increased, the thickness of his skin, fat, and muscles would also increase correspondingly. Most of the injuries were thus external and did not affect the internal organs.
Feeling James' forehead for fever and relieved that he wasn't running one, Charles then turned to Audric and pushed the mirror into his hands.
"This relic belongs to that Duchess. It seems like this granted her the ability to become that giant bat. Do you know how to use it?"
The blind man's fingers traced the surface of the mirror for a brief moment before he answered, "This... This should be the relic of Duchess Akasha, the Bat Mirror. Smearing blood on it would allow the user to become a giant bat with high combat power."
Audric's words reminded Charles of the formidable aerial beast. A spark of desire ignited in his heart when he recalled the powerful sonic attack. However, he didn't let himself be blinded by the ability the relic granted to forget about the potential adverse effects of it.
"Are there any side effects?" Charles inquired.
"Yes. After using this mirror, the bloodlust of the user intensifies. Frequent use would cause the user to become a slave to its power and become an actual beast. Its previous owner, Viscount Lance, is still hanging upside down on Dark Crystal Island."
Charles stared at the mirror and started thinking. The side effects are rather severe. It seems like this relic can only be used in emergency situations and can't be used anytime like the Clown Mask.
Audric seemed to have suddenly sensed Charles' gaze and hurriedly offered the mirror back to Charles. He might not be able to see, but he was clear of his place.
By now, Audric's neck had already regenerated to its original state. The vampire's regeneration abilities stirred a deep sense of envy in Charles.
He took the mirror from Audric and tucked it into his own pocket. His curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "Since vampires have such incredible healing powers, what's with the scar on your face? Was it caused by something special?"
A trace of horror appeared on Audric's face.
"It was an accident," Audric began. "My companions and I raided a pirate ship. We stumbled upon a box in their hidden cabin. We thought it would contain some sort of treasure but it ended up being a box that contained sunlight."
Charles' heart skipped a beat the instant he heard the word 'sunlight.' However, he soon realized something amiss in the vampire's narrative.
"Wait, what? Sunlight? How would sunlight be contained in a box? Are you sure?"
"Yes. It's definitely sunlight. The moment it shone, my brethren were reduced to ash. I was only spared due to being quite a distance away from the box. But even so, I paid a terrible price."
Audric then removed his dark glasses to reveal his bulging eyes that looked like coddled eggs. Accompanied by the red, swollen veins surrounding them, his eyes appeared rather horrifying.
"Can you see this? My eyes are still aching from that incident. Only sunlight could inflict such torment."
Feeling rather restless, Charles paced around the cabin. Even being pursued by vampires yesterday had not unsettled his composure, but now, he was thoroughly shaken up.
"Perhaps... Perhaps it could be some other light-attribute weapon?"
The idea of sunlight being encased in a box sounded ludicrous to him. How could sunlight that was devoid of a physical form be captured and stored in a box?
Audric shook his head. "There were still some pirates who survived the battle with us. They remained unaffected while we ended up dead or critically injured. If it was any other kind of weapon, they couldn't have possibly escaped unscathed."
Charles' heart raced as his face lit up with excitement. This could be a crucial clue to find the entrance back to the surface world.
"Where did those pirates get the sunlight?"
"I'm not too sure. But those pirates are from the City of Chaos, Sottom. They probably got it from there. Mr. Charles, do you need sunlight?"
"City of Chaos, Sottom..." Charles reiterated the name to himself as a rare smile etched on his face. He then patted Audric on the shoulder before he turned and left the cabin.
Regardless of whether the box truly contained sunlight, he was determined to find it out himself.
Hearing Charles' footsteps fading into the distance, Audric stealthily retrieved a half-corpse from a nearby barrel. If Charles were present, he would immediately recognize that the corpse belonged to the vampire duchess that he had fought with earlier.
The blind vampire embraced the and greedily fed on it. In the darkness of the cabin, the sounds of gnashing teeth intermingled with James' snoring.
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